


The Most Beautiful Man In The World

by szczepter



Series: 30 days cheesy tropes challenge [7]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, M/M, some ocs here and there, trope: elevator meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15731838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/szczepter/pseuds/szczepter
Summary: The Most Beautiful Man In The World, Who Lives In My Building And Only Ever Sees Me When I Look Disgusting





	1. The cute guy three doors down.

_Shit, not again._

The elevator door suddenly stopped from closing and Kagami braced himself for what was coming, already feeling like he wanted to die or at least crawl into a hole and hide.

The door opened fully and a short, blue eyed and blue haired boy walked in.

“Hello.” He said politely in a soft voice and didn’t even bother to press the button with the tenth floor, knowing very well that Kagami already did it anyway.

Taiga felt his already red and sweaty face go even more red and he mentally beat himself for always, _always_ doing the same damn thing.

Kuroko Tetsuya was his neighbor for three months already.

The first time they met, Kagami almost swallowed his tongue from shock when he silently and suddenly slipped into the elevator, looked at Kagami and said hello.

One moment he wasn’t there and the next one he was!

But that wasn’t the biggest issue.

The biggest issue was that Taiga was coming from his usual evening jog and he was sweaty and gross and the elevator was maybe big enough for two people, but it did not account for someone just after a very thorough jog and Kagami simply felt self-conscious.

He also eloquently sputtered a ‘where did you come from?!’ to which the mysterious guy briefly explained that his name was Kuroko Tetsuya and he moved in just last week. 

Kagami felt dumb by his sudden outburst and he merely mumbled his own name, but opted not to shake hands with Kuroko. It would probably gross him out.

Kuroko didn’t seem to mind, just nodded and said that it was nice to meet him.

They reached their floor and went to their separate apartments.

And that was it.

Not.

Kagami seemed to pick up an unlucky streak with the new neighbor.

He wasn’t really much for jogging, but it was the easiest and cheapest workout he could do, and even if he could use the nearby gym, he liked to exercise outside.

So, he jogged every Tuesday and Friday, for at least an hour and a half, so the state he and his clothes were after, wasn’t really something he wanted to expose other people to.

First time he thought it was a coincidence. Okay, it happened. Kuroko was coming back from whatever that he did and they bumped into each other. Taiga suspected he wouldn’t even know that Kuroko lived three doors down from him otherwise.

Second time, Taiga was ticked off, that he didn’t manage to see Kuroko and take the stairs in the last moment or wait until Kuroko took the elevator first. He promised himself that he would do so next time.

But he didn’t.

He simply forgot about Kuroko.

It was a bit embarrassing, but the guy didn’t leave that much impression anyway. He was just there and then he wasn’t.

So, by the third time, Kuroko slipped into the elevator with him, Kagami thought he was stalking him.

Only that in reality, it could look as if _Kagami_ was doing the stalking. 

It took him a month to figure out that Kuroko was coming back from classes around seven.

_A month._

It was because he didn’t know what to look at in the cramped, little elevator so his gaze fell onto the books Kuroko was holding and noticed the labels.

After that Kagami managed to notice more things about Kuroko. Like the way he made a humming noise when he got a text, or the way he slid his finger on the panel until he reached number ten and stopped when he saw that it was already pushed in.

It should have been easy after that to avoid getting into the same elevator with Kuroko, right?

No.

Somehow, Kagami ended in the same, small, cramped space, like a clockwork, while smelling like ass and Kuroko looking like he just came out of a brochure for a language course. His shirts were always so well pressed and clean, his hair looked a bit messy but in that way that made you think it was on purpose. He even wore _suspenders_ one time. Who _even_ did that _anymore_?

And yet it fit him.

_Jesus Christ_ , thought Kagami one time when the elevator doors closed and a gust of wind blew inside, he even _smells_ nice. It was clean and fresh with a tinge of sweet that Kagami couldn’t really differentiate at first, because as much as well he cooked, he wasn’t one for sweets, but then it hit him it was a hint of vanilla.

Such a strange mix for a guy and yet it _also_ fit him like a glove.

Great. Noticing the smell of your stupidly attractive neighbor. That wasn’t creepy at all.

Yeah, somehow Kagami developed a quasi-crush. Now _that_ was embarrassing. Taiga had null experiences. There were some girls in high school that made _doe eyes_ at him (Tatsuya’s words, not his), and some were brave enough to confess even but it was just all so weird to Taiga. They were cute and pretty, that much he could admit, but he had no things in common with them, what was he supposed to talk with them even?

And most of all, he was aware that he had no feelings for them and it felt not fair to try and force them.

So yeah, love life? Nonexistent.

Then he found a job at a fire station and that fill his whole free time.

And now, suddenly a crush.

At least that’s what Kagami thought it was it.

He wished he was a more confident person. Maybe then he could even answer the damn hello like a normal person and not mumble something while staring at his jordans and trying not to pant like an animal.

He regretted now that he never went on at least one date with any of those girls. Maybe he’d have _some_ experience he could fall back on.

Kagami was beginning to think he was a masochist. Only he didn’t feel any pleasure from those encounters, only humiliation. Or maybe he _was_ crazy. After all, insanity was repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.

If it was only the elevator incident, even two times a week, he could live with it. Maybe Kuroko could live with it too. He certainly didn’t look like minded at all, but Kagami just attributed that to his immaculate manners, which were as immaculate as his pristine white shirts.

Point being, no one could jog for half an hour in the summer and not be sweaty. And even more so, no one could look good while sweaty. Well, maybe except Tatsuya. Taiga always looked like an ogre, while his older brother could star in a commercial. But that was the curse of younger siblings, right? They always got the shorter end of the stick, especially when it came to looks.

Not that Kagami cared, about his looks.

At least not until he saw the cute guy in the elevator who said hello like it was the nineteen fifties and Taiga’s brain kind of fizzled and he swore he could hear an alarm in his head.

That is, after he managed to calm his wildly beating heart after the guy scared the living shit out of him.

But after that, it sort of clicked and Taiga was glad on one hand that he was able to hide his blush under a post workout flush.

But there was more. Oh, _so much_ more.

Taiga remembered the first time they met outside the elevator, and boy oh boy was _this_ a meeting.

Taiga's former coach and captain from his university lived on the first floor of the apartment building. After college, they opened a gym and moved into the nearby apartment block, and funnily enough they were the ones that helped him find his own place when he wanted to stop being a burden to Alex and Tatsuya.

They also got married right before the end of the last year at university and only a year later they had a daughter. Her name was Kana and she was six now and pretty independent already.

Since they both worked late hours, after they picked their daughter from pre-school she would spend most of the time at the gym, in the kids’ corner, but after some time she got bored and whined to go home. That posed quite a predicament, since even if either of them could take Kana home (the block wasn't too far away, so it would take about twenty minutes to and back) Kana would still needed to be left home _alone_. And as much as independent she was at the age of six, she was _still_ only six.

And they weren't very keen on hiring a nanny.

So, the whole apartment block became Kana's babysitters. Well, not all of them, but whoever was available and willing to take her home for a few hours and feed her dinner.

And on Mondays, when Taiga didn't have a night shift, it was his turn.

Cooking a simple meal wasn't a problem, but Taiga didn't really feel comfortable around children, seeing himself as a hulking tree with a scary face. He was also awkward around them, never knowing what to say.

Thankfully, Kana wasn't a kid which was scared easily, and she wasn't scared of him in the first place, which was good in Taiga's book.

But just because she wasn't scared of him, it didn't mean she liked or _listened_ to him.

Not that she threw tantrums, Taiga would simply pick her up and carried her home if it came to it.

But Kana still was a little pain in the ass.

She asked about everything, she talked all the damn time and she ran off randomly to see this or that. Taiga was only thankful that their neighborhood was closed off from the main road. He could outrun most of people, but even _his_ reflexes weren't that quick to be able to catch a kid who ran off suddenly.

And Kana was also a public nuisance sometimes. Today more so than most days, so Kagami bought her an ice cream cone to shut her up.

It worked. For a while at least. Until she spotted a stray cat, gasped and in her excitement threw the cone at Kagami. It landed just above his crotch, the strawberry and chocolate mix of ice cream and sauce smeared on his t-shirt, creating a colorful, fantastical mess.

"Hey!" Taiga shouted and threw the cone in to the trash and ran after the girl. She was dangerously close to the entry to the main road and as much as he wanted to shake the little devil, he didn’t want her to get hurt obviously.

Seriously, Kana needed a leash.

"Where the hell are yo-" Taiga came to a stop suddenly when he took a corner and almost tripped.

His neighbor appeared out of thin air. He was crouching in front of Kana calmly talking to her, while wiping her sticky hands with a tissue. The cat which previously ran away from her, was now purring loudly as it bumped against Kuroko's knee, demanding to be pet.

When he was done with cleaning the girls' hands, both of them turned their attention to the needy animal.

The picture was cute and all, but Taiga thought that he _should_ end it and scold Kana that her parents would be angry if they knew how she ran away from Taiga into potential danger.

But then he realized that his t-shirt was a mess and he cursed.

Kuroko heard it and looked up.

"Hello." He said with a smile in his very polite tone of voice and Taiga felt himself turn red.

"Uh. Hi." He mumbled and awkwardly made his way towards them. He could see Kuroko's gaze wander over his clothes and he gritted his teeth. Thankfully he didn't say anything.

"Don't ran away like that!" He said and grabbed Kana's hand. "Come on. Your parents are gonna kill me."

Kuroko stood up and it looked like he wanted to say something, but then decided against it. Taiga glanced at him one last time and tugged the kid while she waved goodbye to his neighbor.

Then there was the thing with the car.

Taiga needed a car because Alex and Tatsuya wanted to go camping one time and since Alex's was broken, Tatsuya didn't have his driver’s license and Taiga didn't have a car and he lost while drawing the straws he was the one to rent it.

The camping was a disaster. It rained and was cold and Tatsuya caught a nasty cold, but they still insisted on going and staying the full week.

But it was _Taiga_ who was left with washing the damn car after all of it.

And of course, the weather was amazing. It was warm, almost hot but the slight wind made it bearable and working on cleaning all the mud and grass wasn't as bad.

But rising it from the suds was. Mostly because some asshole kid from the neighborhood thought it would be funny to turn on the hydrant the hose was attached to while Taiga was turned away so he didn't see what he was doing.

When he turned around he got a splash of cold water right into his face that almost knocked him over.

He sputtered and yelled after the kid, but by the time he managed to get the hose under control the little brat was gone and he didn't even manage to see who it was.

Taiga wiped the water of his face and grimaced when he saw the state he was in. He purposely wore a pair of old training pants and an old ratty, white tanktop, but now all of it was soaked. And he _still_ needed to rinse the suds.

He sighed, picked the hose and continued, annoyed and wet and uncomfortable.

He shook his head and made the annoying droplets fly everywhere, but at least the sun was shining and it was warm so the car should be clean and dry soon enough.

"Holy crap!"

He jumped at the loud voice and managed to drain his trainers with the hose. He looked around and saw a tall blonde, who he recognized as Kise, who lived in the adjacent part of the apartment block.

Taiga was confused at first why he shouted, but then he realized that the guy was openly _gawking_ at him and he felt a fresh wave of humiliation wash over him and his face started to burn.

It was one thing to feel annoyed and embarrassed in front of a kid and another when a fellow adult openly made fun of you. He knew he looked stupid all drenched like that and he certainly felt like the biggest loser.

He was about to tell Kise to piss off, but then he tugged at someone’s sleeve and turned his attention from Kagami briefly.

"Kurokocchi!! Why didn't you tell me?"

Kagami took a double take and lo and behold there was Kuroko next to Kise, standing patiently, in his clean, dry and neat clothes and hair which looked a bit messy but still somehow like it was styled.

Suddenly, it downed at Kagami that Kise and Kuroko knew each other, were acquaintances and probably _even_ friends.

And Kise was a minor celeb around here, he did some small modeling and acting roles and he even was a photographer at the local newspaper and ran a fashion blog.

Kagami only knew all of this because Tatsuya also knew the guy and they hung out sometimes.

But it wasn't really important what Kise did for a living and where he got the money to pay his rent.

The point was, he was Kuroko's _friend_. And Kise was guy who as much as he behaved ridiculous at times, he always knew how to dress and how to look. Though personally to Taiga, he always looked like a glorified clothes hanger, but hey according to Alex, he had no taste, so be it.  

And then there was Taiga who had the impossible luck of always being caught dirty or sweaty, and now he also looked like he didn't own a washing machine at home.

His face burned and he felt anger, mostly at himself, bubble in his stomach. It didn't help when he noticed that Kuroko kind of avoided looking at him.

Great. He was probably embarrassed by being associated with him in the presence of a stylish friend.

Awesome.

"Kise-kun, please." Kuroko said with a sigh. Kagami saw how he sneaked a glance at him and then quickly looked away. Ouch? "It's very impolite to stare like that."

Kise didn't gawk anymore, but he now openly was giving him a once over which made Kagami feel strangely self-conscious. Was he evaluating his brands or what?

"I'm sorry." Kuroko said and bowed in apology, but when he straightened he still avoided looking at him. He tugged at Kise's arm and both of them left Kagami to his task and to his embarrassment.

So that was the car story.

Not to mention that one time with the fish guts.

That one might actually be one of _the_ most mortifying moments.

Taiga was just casually cooking dinner for Alex and Tatsuya and trying a new fish dish. Then someone pressed the doorbell and softly knocked on the door.

Taiga grimaced and wanted to ignore it, since he was busy at that moment, but the person knocked again and Taiga sighed.

It took him a moment to notice Kuroko when he opened the door, he had this weird ability where it was hard to spot him even when he was in front of you, but when he did Taiga _froze_.

_Oh no_. He thought when Kuroko smiled and said hello. He waved three envelopes in front of his face and said something about the mailman mistakenly putting them in Kuroko’s mailbox.

He finished, the white rectangles in his hands and waited for Taiga to take them.

But Taiga was too busy feeling mortified, because he had _fish guts_ on his apron (thank god he always wore an apron while cooking) and his hands were still kind of red from the blood even if he managed to rinse them under the tap before he opened the door.

And they smelled obviously.

The worst was when Kuroko paused, took in Kagami and just _had_ to notice the mess on his apron and his eyes widened.

Did he look like a serial killer?

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He said and took a tentative step inside Kagami’s genkan.

“Pardon.” He put the envelopes on a small cabinet near the entrance and then retreated back to the hall.

Taiga stayed silent for the whole ordeal and he realized that he was probably frowning. It was just a habit when he felt uneasy or awkward. Kuroko blinked at him simply when he said nothing and nodded.

“Have a nice day.”

Taiga was fairly positive that his neighbor must have thought that he was a huge weirdo or a creep.

Or both.

He was also fairly certain he was making fun of him, with all the small, smiles he’d been giving him lately.

Like that one time when he helped Kiyoshi get his new couch inside his apartment.

Because _of course_ his former senior had such amazing ideas as buying furniture which wasn’t detachable and had to be _carried_ inside.

On top of that the elevator was broken this time, but it wasn’t like it would fit there, so all they were left with was to haul it to the seventh floor by themselves.

And maybe Taiga could live with that. It was hot and the staircase was narrow and it took them more time than it was necessary to get to the seventh floor, even though Taiga could take them in two minutes even with bags full of groceries.

Around the sixth floor Kiyoshi wanted a break, because his knee was acting up and then stopped for a few moments. Right then, of course like a goddamn ghost, Kuroko appeared at the top of the stairs. He assessed the situation quickly and after saying his good mornings he made sure to move out of the way.

Taiga wanted to let him pass first, but Kiyoshi the damn impractical dummy decided it was great to start carrying the couch in the narrow hallway _again_.

Taiga tried not to look at Kuroko as he strained with the furniture and looked stupid and sweaty and gross again.

But their eyes met when he was passing him, because he didn’t want to accidentally knocking him or step on his foot.

And Kuroko smiled at him.

It was so sudden. One moment he was just looking at something and then he looked at Kagami and smiled.

Taiga almost dropped the couch on _his_ foot then and Kiyoshi laughed at him. Taiga sputtered and yelled at him and glared.

He didn’t mean for it to be directed at Kuroko, but it was for some reason and Kuroko’s smile feel so suddenly, Taiga felt as if the light suddenly dimmed.

He felt like an ass for the rest of the day and he even wanted to try and talk to Kuroko and explain that no he wasn’t a huge jackass, he was just awkward, but his neighbor was nowhere to be found after that for the rest of the day.

Kagami finally came to the conclusion that he wasn’t a masochist. The universe _simply_ hated him. That or he pissed off some kind of deity somehow. Maybe in his former life. Because, why would it thrust a very attractive guy, that somehow seemed to fit Kagami’s (previously non-existent) type and yet made him look like a total slob during every encounter?

Kagami made a mistake of looking away from the wall and at Kuroko. He couldn’t help it, the space was so small there were so many places he could fix his gaze onto, while the elevator slogged through the floors at a snail’s pace.

_One of these days someone’s gonna get stuck in here._ Kagami thought briefly, before his gaze landed directly on his neighbors’ face and he flushed when he realized the cute guy looked, or more like _stared_ back.

That amount of sudden eye contact embarrassed him and when Kuroko send him a smile _again_ , thin lips stretching and eyebrows raising his defense mechanism kicked in and he glared.

_Shit wait no_. He thought suddenly, he should have smiled back, maybe say something, start a conversation like a normal person, but he just didn’t know what to say. 

His body didn’t want to cooperate.

And then it was too late, because the light dimmed again. Granted it might actually be the lightbulb, but even if it wasn’t the atmosphere turned sourer when Kuroko’s smile fell and he looked away.

Kagami could see a small wrinkle between Kuroko’s brows and it made his hand twitch, because he wanted to smooth it out. _Of course_ , he didn’t do it, because that would really make him look like a creep, but the fact that he got such a sudden urge made him feel even more embarrassed.

Besides, Kuroko probably already thought him to be some sort of creepy looser with whom he unfortunately shared a floor.

If only the circumstances were different.

But they weren’t.

When the elevator dinged and opened at the tenth floor, Kuroko left first and he did it so quickly Taiga almost felt hurt, but he really couldn’t blame Kuroko.

Before he reached his own door, Kuroko already disappeared behind his own and they closed with a quiet sound.

Taiga sighed and shook his head.

Yep. Definitely a creepy loser.


	2. Mixed Signals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko's side.

Kuroko passed the familiar store sign, took a corner and started to count down from twenty.

When he opened the door to the apartment building and reached one, he couldn’t help but smile to himself when the image of a sweat soaked tank-top and a heaving back greeted him.

_Like a clockwork._ He thought amused and quickly slipped behind Kagami into the elevator when it’s doors opened.

His neighbor flinched when he saw him and made a startled noise, but otherwise remained silent and as every Tuesday when they took the elevator together he kept glaring at the button display.

And as every Tuesday Tetsuya send him a small smile and politely nodded to him.

This time, however it was a little forced.

It’s been three months since Tetsuya moved into this neighborhood, as per Kise-kun’s recommendation. It was closer to his university, even if slightly more expensive, but nothing his part time jobs and internship couldn’t cover. Also the small apartment was in good shape, cozy and the whole building was well maintained thanks to their landlord.

Kasamatsu-san might have been a grouch even on his better days, but he was responsible and even if something broke (which didn’t happen often _thankfully_ ) he was able to resolve it pretty quickly.

He could also keep Nigou with him, in contrast to his dorm room, which was also an added bonus which made him decide to move in the end.

But no one told him that _another_ added bonus would be a very attractive neighbor with whom he’d be able to ride the elevator every Tuesday when he came back from his evening classes and who also lived just three doors down _and_ whose kitchen window was aligned with Tetsuya’s small balcony.

Yet they still _haven’t_ had a proper conversation.

Also, they seemed to keep running into each other in random places.

Aside from the Tuesday elevator meetings, they also met at the local convenience store and supermarket, at the post or _even_ the vet where Kagami was a regular who dropped off stray and injured cats he’d found.

_Even_ at the park where Tetsuya walked Nigou in the afternoons and late evenings. They passed each other when Tetsuya was coming back from class on some days and Kagami was just starting his jogging routine.

Sometimes he noticed him, sometimes he didn’t.

When he didn’t Tetsuya didn’t reveal his presence immediately, opting to simply observe Kagami-kun. He wasn’t a stalker, but he did feel a little guilty that he was able to recite a number of things about Kagami-kun, without speaking more than five words to him so far.

The first thing which was the most noticeable about Kagami-kun was that he was _ridiculously_ tall.

And well build.

Running aside, It was obvious that his job _probably_ required physical fitness.

He most certainly also did some kind of sport. Tetsuya betted on either swimming or basketball. He secretly hoped for the latter, and when he saw Kagami-kun leave their apartment block one day with a familiar orange ball under his arm, his heart skipped a beat for a moment and he instantly felt more connected to him than before.

But those were the things which an average person with average attention to the details could notice.

Tetsuya didn’t _just_ have an exceptional attention to the details. He could analyze them like only few people could.

For example; anyone could see that Kagami-kun was tall and fit, and while that kind of look birthed certain stereotypes in people, Tetsuya could see beyond that.

He could see that underneath his physical prowess he was a bit…awkward. Like a young boy who hasn’t yet mentally and physically grew into his newly developed body and was having trouble with his lanky legs and arms and too much width or girth.

Simply speaking he was attractive, but he didn’t know it. He wasn’t exactly _shy_ , but there was certain clumsiness to his whole being; posture, movement, speech and so on, which broke the image of a sports jock which Tetsuya no doubtly believed hung around his neighbor.

Good. For some people that little bit of humanity could be a deal breaker, but for Tetsuya it was the overconfidence and obnoxious arrogance in one’s own person which turned him off in a heartbeat, no matter how physically desirable the person could be.

But that wasn’t the only thing which, let’s say, put Kagami-kun on Kuroko’s radar (not that Tetsuya even knew he had one to begin with).

There was an ingredient which was far more attractive than just a sweaty tank top over a toned body and broad shoulders tempered by a dash of awkwardness.

Simply put, it was kindness.

Tetsuya wondered why he visited the local pet store and vet clinic so often if he himself didn’t own a pet. He also seemed to dislike dogs, because he was so tense around them and glared in their way.

It was a minor drawback in Kagami-kun’s whole image, but not enough for Tetsuya to write him off. Maybe it was something which could be unlearned. For the meantime, he tried to keep his own hyperactive puppy away from Kagami as not to cause him distress.

One time when he was waiting with for Nigou to get his shots, Kagami-kun came in. He glared as usual and didn’t seem to notice Tetsuya at all. He went to the receptionist out of line and some people murmured that it was rude. Tetsuya looked from over his book and frowned when he saw a lump in Kagami-kun’s jacket. And then a fuzzy, small head popped out of it and mewled pitifully.

Kagami-kun blushed and mumbled apologies to the other people in the clinic and said he just wanted to drop of the small kitten he found in the entry to the sewer.

Kuroko noticed with satisfaction that everyone looked mildly embarrassed by their behavior and let Kagami-kun pass and give the animal to the receptionist.

After that, he became a regular who would drop of stray cats and kittens whenever he found them. Most of them even got adopted by either the other neighbors or by people from outside their little community.

Kuroko even saw Kagami one time saving one of them from a tree. Usually, the cats would be very stressed and lash out, but for some reason Kagami-kun was able to calm them down. The funniest thing was that he didn’t even do it properly. There was no technique to it or methodology, he just murmured to them in his low, gruff voice and the cats somehow calmed down enough for him to pick them up and get them down from the tree or from under the car.

It seemed he had a lot of practice.

He also seemed to have a lot of experience with children, even though from what Tetsuya knew he lived alone and it seemed like he was single.

But there were so many instances when he saw Kagami-kun talking to a little girl or a little boy, trying to calm down their crying due to scrapped knees or broken toys.

Many times he saw him walk hand in hand with a child he recognized as the daughter of one of their mutual neighbors. In different circumstances, Tetsuya would probably we vary, but Kagami-kun had the opinion of someone trustworthy and he heard how Riko-san one time scheduled for Kagami-kun to pick up little Kana from their gym on Monday. So everything was under control.

And then there were also the old people.

There weren’t that many in their neighborhood but all the little, old ladies loved Kagami-kun and always gave him candy or commented on how he was so chivalrous  and handsome and reminded them of their late husband after he helped them with their groceries or some minor house repair.

He’d always blush and sputter but never stopped being polite and nice to them.

One time when Tetsuya saw it from his kitchen window he couldn’t help but laugh. It was a bit ridiculous how unreal it was.

_Plus_ he was an excellent cook, something Tetsuya could certainly attest to even though he never even _tasted_ any of the dishes Kagami-kun prepared in his kitchen which had a window right next to Kuroko’s balcony.

Well, smell was half eating anyway right?

All this was making Tetsuya feel both affection and admiration for his neighbor, strong enough in wanting to get to know him. He already knew a lot about him, but he actually wanted to hear it from him, ask him questions and listen to his answers.

Tetsuya never said it out loud, but a tiny part of him believed in fate, or maybe it wanted to believe in it. And maybe this was the universe telling him something.

_Treasure every encounter._ Was what his grandmother always told him.

The problem was, it didn’t seem like Kagami-kun liked him _at all._

Tetsuya would lie if he said he wasn’t disappointed that the interest and admiration weren’t mutual, but the fact that even a _simple_ friendship or good neighbor relations were also out of the question was making all this knowledge about Kagami-kun feel a bit sour.

The number of times Tetsuya saw Kagami-kun outright _avoid_ him was getting tiresome. He thought he was being subtle a first, with the way he’d pretend to get a call, stop and walk away, only then to come back and walk back to the apartment just to avoid walking these few steps together with Kuroko when they happened to use the stairs.

Or when he would pretend not to see him at the store and dive back into the animal food alley.

But now he seemed to abandon all subtlety and just hide behind any bush or tree when he’d spot Kuroko on the main yard of their apartment block.

Not to mention the one time he out right hid behind the fridge door in his kitchen when Tetsuya walked out to air out his futon and Kagami-kun was in the middle of cooking. Tetsuya sighed to himself and decided to pretend he didn’t saw Kagami-kun in that moment. No need to make this even more awkward that it already was.

And then there was of course the glaring.

Honestly, Tetsuya could live with it. He suspected it was just how Kagami-kun looked. There were few and far between moments when he didn’t saw him frowning at something or the other, while he smiled and laughed rarely.

But when he did it was well. He really had a nice smile. And a loud booming laugh, which _should_ be annoying, but it wasn’t, at least to Tetsuya and he really almost told him one time he should smile more.

But maybe Kagami-kun was just stressed by his work and general life. Who knew?

The thought that he might add to this feeling was really dampening all of this though.

Tetsuya’s small smile fell when Kagami-kun failed to return it yet again and looked over his head to the metal door of the elevator instead.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Not today either huh?  Well, too bad.

The elevator was slow, even slower than usual as it pulled them up onto their tenth floor. It wobbled and groaned under the strain and Tetsuya was again reminded by how old the whole building was.

One day it will all backfire on someone. In best case scenario someone was going to get stuck for at least a whole day and maybe even a whole night, until someone would found them. The elevator had no communication device and the reception was terrible for some reason so it all depended on the floor for the cellphones to work.

Worst case scenario? Well… Tetsuya listened to the groan of the strain of the thick, metal wires and didn’t really feel like finishing this thought.

He was just contemplating asking Kasamatsu-san for a potential renovation or at least an inspection when the light blinked two times and the elevator stopped.

_Did I foresee that?_ Tetsuya felt alarmed for a second, but then the light flicked back on and he saw that the elevator simply stopped on the sixth floor, for some reason. He then saw the face of an older lady who waved at them in apology and waited for the elevator to start again.

It did suddenly and it shook the small cramped space so hard Tetsuya gasped when he was propelled forward.

He avoided a fall by outstretching his arms in front of him and hitting something hard.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a wall. Because it grunted in pain.

He looked up and saw that he actually hit Kagami-kun with the thick book he held in his hands straight in the chest. He winced mentally, because it must have hurt.

“Apologies.” He said and pulled away from Kagami, as far as he could.

Kagami opened his mouth to say something but then he closed it, deciding to simply nod. At least the frown was gone from his face, though it reappeared again quickly.

Kuroko also saw that he dropped his arms which were raised somewhere around Kuroko’s shoulders. He didn’t know if they were to steady him or push him away and considering Kagami-kun’s behavior around him, he wouldn’t be surprised for the latter.

Kuroko frowned and wanted to reconsider thinking highly of his neighbor. He clearly wasn’t _only_ annoyed by his presence, but _also_ found the thought of casual touch repulsive.

They finally arrived at their floor and Kuroko left the small space, a bit angry.

They both got to opening their own doors and then Kuroko noticed two things.

Kagami-kun for some reason completely forgot how keys worked. He wasn’t able to get them out of his pocket and  when he finally did he dropped them. Then he wasn’t able to put them in the lock and dropped them again. Then he had trouble in turning them and after a brief struggle realized he was using the wrong one. And thus again repeating the cycle.

The second thing was that his frown now was accompanied by a tinge of pink across his cheeks.

He also kept glancing at Kuroko, who decided to pretend to be oblivious to that and prolonged his own door opening.

But then he could only do it for so long, so when he finally opened his apartment door, he turned to Kagami-kun and wished him goodnight in his most polite and sincere tone.

That made him drop the keys again and Kuroko had to bite his lip not to laugh.

When he got inside and closed the door though he turned pensive. He heard how the opposite door opened and closed finally and then silence fell on their hallway.

Kuroko sighed and shook his head as he stripped of his jacket and shoes.

Such mixed signals.


	3. The dog incident

Kagami-kun hated dogs.

It took Kuroko only a month after he brought Nigou into his apartment to figure it out.

Then again it wasn’t that hard to notice and Kagami-kun wasn’t trying to hide it in the first place.  
  
The neighborhood they lived in was for some reason more popular with stray and domesticated cats and people also had other pets, making Tetsuya the first person to adopt a puppy _in years_.

Kasamatsu-san was fine with it; he seemed to be a dog lover himself, but due to his busy schedule he opted to not get a pet himself. He _did_ keep a record of all the tenants’ pet animals and Tetsuya had to ‘register’ Nigou after he brought him home from the vet.

Nigou was a stray which he found one day while going to class. Thankfully there was an animal clinic nearby and he could drop the poor animal off, but he couldn’t focus for the rest of the day, the sad puppy eyes haunting him in his mind.

So he called his landlord and asked if adopting a dog would be a problem. Surprisingly, Kasamatsu-san was more than understanding and after that Tetsuya could call the animal clinic and ask if the puppy admitted today morning was already adopted.

And he wasn’t, so after class Tetsuya almost dashed there and applied for adoption.

And a week later he could bring him home.

He was a sweet, smart little guy, loved to play and get belly scratches. Tetsuya started to train him after he got accommodated in his apartment and he could sit, wait and shake paws so far.

It didn’t even take him long to get used to a leash, but Tetsuya liked to let him explore the area on his own when they were going for a walk.

He liked to meet new people, was friendly to kids and old ladies and the only reason he approached cats was because he was curious, and not to attack them.  Even his barking wasn’t aggressive.

Everyone loved Nigou.

_Except_ his neighbor.

At first Tetsuya thought that maybe Kagami-kun was surprised when Nigou ventured into the balcony because of the nice smell coming from Kagami-kun’s kitchen,  wagged his tail and barked happy a few times saying hello to the human he didn’t met before.

When Tetsuya heard a yell and a crash, he all but ran to the balcony. Nigou looked at him in confusion.

And Kagami-kun hid under the counter.

He knew because he could see his head.

“Come on Nigou.” Tetsuya sighed and led his dog back to the apartment and closed the door.

There were no tasty smells after that for the rest of the day.

When they were walking back from their walk one day, he saw Kagami-kun from a mile away. It was always so easy to spot him, due to his height, build and the vibrant, red hair. He was just hard to miss.

And he knew Kagami-kun saw him too that day because he stopped suddenly, even when they were still a good distance away.

And then he took a turn into the nearest shrubbery.

Tetsuya frowned then and Nigou noticed the change of his mood. When they got back home, he curled at his side on the couch when Tetsuya was reading.

It was nice, but it didn’t change the fact that his neighbor disliked not _only_ him but also his dog.

He thought that maybe Nigou would become a pretext of getting to know each other. One day while taking the elevator Kagami-kun would comment what a cute dog Nigou was and would ask if he could pet him.

Tetsuya would pick him up and Nigou would get ear scratches and be the happiest puppy in the world.

And maybe Tetsuya could get more than five words out of his grumpy, attractive neighbor.

Tetsuya sighed.

Well, no matter. Maybe Kagami-kun would come around and learn to accept Nigou at least, if not liking him.

And speaking of elevators.

Tetsuya taught Nigou how to take the stairs, so he didn't take the elevator for a while.

And as it seemed Kagami-kun did too.

When he saw Tetsuya his eyes widened, but then he noticed Nigou and he froze what Tetsuya could finally realize it was terror he saw in his eyes.

He plastered himself to the wall and crawled like that for the entire flight, eyes firmly locked on Nigou who sat on one of the steps and curiously looked at the strange man, walking in the most ridiculous manner.

When Kagami-kun was gone he gave Tetsuya a confused look and tilted his head.

Well, so much for trying to accept Nigou. How could he if he was terrified of dogs in the first place?

So Tetsuya timed his walks, his visits to the vet, _even_ his grocery shopping just so Kagami-kun didn’t have to see Nigou and get a spontaneous heart attack. He would not be responsible for _that_.

But that meant that they saw each other less and less and that was pretty unfortunate.

So that went on for a few weeks.

And then, the worst possible thing happened.

Kuroko had a suspicion that Kagami-kun might be a-social and have problems with interacting with people. After all that would explain why he was so abrasive and hostile to him whenever they met.

But no. Kagami-kun had no problems with getting to know people and making them like him, despite his overall roughness he also had a softer side which he showed from time to time.

Explained why kids, the elderly and animals (dogs included, unfortunately for him) all _loved_ him.

And Kagami-kun _had_ friends. They visited him with almost clockwork accuracy, every week. It was a tall (not as tall as Kagami-kun), young, black-haired man and a blond, foreign woman.

Tetsuya thought that either of them could be something more to Kagami-kun than just friends, but the way they interacted seemed more like siblings, which was confirmed one time when Tetsuya overheard (they were very loud, it wasn’t his fault) that the man referred to himself as Kagami-kun’s older brother and the woman (as much it was obvious she wasn’t related) saw Kagami-kun as someone also akin to her young brother or a nephew.

That didn’t made Kuroko’s situation any _less_ difficult, but it was something that he simply noted. That there were people his usually grumpy neighbor was close too.

Tetsuya woke to such a delicious, _juicy_ smell his insides grumbled and Nigou jumped onto his bed with his on growl.

“Nigou!” Kuroko laughed when his puppy realized that there was no rival for his master’s affection and nuzzled at Tetsuya’s palm. He then turned to the window and sniffed.

“Smells good doesn’t it?” He scratched Nigou behind the ears.

He checked his clock and noted that it was still very early, yet Kagami-kun was already up and cooking dinner. Strange.

“Well, at least I didn’t oversleep.” He mused to himself when he went to the kitchen to fill Nigou’s bowl. He discreetly closed the window and the balcony door, even though the weather was nice. He didn’t want to rile Nigou up with the smells coming from the apartment next door and antagonize Kagami-kun with his dog barking. After all, he knew how much he disliked him.

A few hours later the mystery resolved itself.

Kuroko saw a familiar car park in front of the block and two heads, black and yellow poked out of it. They waved up in the direction of Kuroko’s floor, but he knew they weren’t greeting him.

Few minutes later he heard the elevator signal ping and the loud and excited voices of Kagami-kun’s guests push on the doorbell.

Tetsuya was doing laundry and cleaning, so he only heard scraps of their conversations when he passed the door in the hall; the woman’s high, excited voice and her barely noticeable accent (seemed like she was American), the other males soft and smooth voice and Kagami-kun’s rough stutter, a grunt and then an annoyed yell and the subsequent laughter of his two guests.

And then it went quiet, though he could _still_ hear faint sizzling of the frying pan.

The smells became stronger and Nigou started barking and scrapping at the door.

Tetsuya sighed and put away his cleaning equipment.

“Nigou.”

The puppy looked back at him with its sad eyes.

Tetsuya sighed. Nigou scrunched his nose.

Kuroko knew the smells were irritating him because he couldn’t take part in the _absolutely_ amazing feast that was taking place just next door.

But he couldn’t just barge in and ask to be included along with his dog.

Kagami-kun hated dogs.

And disliked him so much he could barely stand to be in the same elevator with him for more than three minutes.

Plus it was just rude.

But he didn’t want poor Nigou to be stuck here either.

“Walk it is.” He finally decided. Nigou cocked his head when Tetsuya put on his collar.

“Come. I’ll buy you a snack.” _And a milkshake for myself_.

Maybe when they’d be back the smells would be long gone and Nigou would calm down.

Tetsuya grabbed his keys and wallet and let his dog out into the hallway of their floor.

He busied himself with closing the door to his apartment, the leash dangling where it was wrapped around his forearm.

“Do you want chicken or bacon snacks?” Tetsuya asked idly as he turned the key in his lock. “Bacon probably.” Tetsuya wrinkled his nose when his stomach grumbled. He _just_ ate breakfast. Maybe he’d also get a hamburger or some fries with his shake.

“What do you think Nigou?” He asked and put the keys into his special pouch which he hid safely in his bag.

He expected an excited bark in reply. Nigou obviously was just a puppy, but he for some reason understood when Tetsuya asked questions and ‘answered’ in his own dog language.

This time; silence.

Tetsuya blinked and looked sharply to the side and then around when he didn’t saw his dog anywhere near him.

Nigou was usually a well behaved puppy. He trained him himself and he was such a quick learner.

Tetsuya’s eyes widened when he saw the door to Kagami-kun’s apartment slightly ajar; laughter, the pan’s simmering and tempting smells coming from the inside.

And then he saw Nigou’s head briefly, his tongue lolling from his mouth. And then he disappeared further into the apartment.

Nigou was usually so well behaved.

_Usually_.

Apparently, not when tasty food was involved just a few meters away from him.

Tetsuya stood there with huge eyes, staring at the slightly ajar door. And then he snapped out of this daze.

Should he go inside? Try to grab Nigou when he was still in the genkan? He still had trouble with the little step and maybe if Tetsuya was lucky he’d catch him ad would be able to leave the apartment and close the door.  

He could later apologize when Kagami-kun was alone and maybe even tell him ( _scold_ him) that leaving the door open like that was dangerous. He’d never know who could get inside.

All those thoughts filled Tetsuya’s head for maybe a few seconds, because he wasn’t able to react when he heard a scream.

It sounded _terrified._  

Without thinking much, Tetsuya ran inside the apartment. He even ignored taking off the shoes. What if something terrible happened?

When he reached the kitchen area he indeed found a pandemonium. Just not the one the thought.

The kitchen area was connected to the spacious living room; it was what Tetsuya noticed first. Kind of a strange thing to notice, but it was that.

He looked frantically for Nigou. He wasn’t hard to find because he was barking _happily_ , wagging his tail and panting as if he was having the time of his life.

Tetsuya blinked. So if Nigou was okay, then what was that blood chilling scream?

He didn’t need to wait long for an answer.

“Get it away!” Kagami-kun boomed. He was pressed into the far corner of the kitchen, dressed in a blue apron with a cartoon tiger on (Tetsuya could smile at that little detail later) and waving a greasy spatula.

There was laughter which came from the blond woman. She was sitting on the couch and judging by her red face and the bottle of wine and something else she was already considerably intoxicated.

The black haired man was puttering in the kitchen area, trying to salvage the dish which was currently burning on the stove.

“Goddamnit, Taiga shut up!” He yelled and just in the last moment managed to turn off the stove. Tetsuya saw how the gray smoke almost reached the sensor and he felt relief when they managed to avoid turning on the fire alarm.

The black haired man managed to open the balcony window and the mess was taken care of.

Kind of.

Kagami-kun’s brother wiped his brow and looked at him with pity and then sighed.

“He’s so cute!” The woman finally stood up and tried to catch Nigou.

His puppy barked happily, thinking that the human was trying to play with him (he was right. Kind of.) and started running away.

“Come back here!” The woman yelled happily after him, but wasn’t able to catch him.

Tetsuya sighed.

“Nigou. Come here.” He said and everyone, _absolutely_ everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at him. If Tetsuya wasn’t so used to this he’d definitely turn red from embarrassment.

“Come.” He knelt and Nigou reluctantly walked up to him. Tetsuya scooped him up.

The room was still silent. Everyone was staring at him.

“I am really sor-“ He didn’t manage to finish his sentence and bow elegantly, when Kagami-kun spoke, or rather yelled.

“Yu-What the hell? Get that thing out of here!” He snapped so loudly that both Nigou and Tetsuya jumped a little.

Tetsuya blinked a few times. Kagami-kun’s loud and angry voice sounded in his ears. There was no edge of softness it in, just pure anger and…fear.

“I-“ Tetsuya started but despite no one interrupting him, he bit his own tongue. He never saw his neighbor as angry as he did at this moment. 

“Hey, hey Taiga. Don’t be such a jerk.” The black haired man snapped out of the shock of finding a strange person in his brother’s kitchen suddenly.

“Me?!” Kagami-kun shrieked. “He knows I hate dogs!”

“Taiga!” The woman scolded him and Tetsuya noticed that he might not be as drunk as he thought.

“Please accept my apology.” Tetsuya said suddenly, bowed and immediately left the room even before the occupants managed to direct their attention back to him.

He didn’t give them a chance to react. He really didn’t want to know the answer.

Tetsuya sighed and dropped at a bench in the nearby park. The same one Kagami-kun sometimes went jogging.

He’d probably avoid this place from now on since it was also the place Tetsuya walked Nigou.

The puppy sat on the ground, his ears were directed downwards and he looked at Tetsuya with his sad, blue, puppy eyes.

He couldn’t even be angry at him.

He sighed and scratched the dog behind its ears, trying to make Nigou feel better. At least one of them could use a positive boost.

Tetsuya craned his neck. He could see the building he lived in and from that angel the window of Kagami-kun’s living room.

Not that he was able to see anything. He could only imagine what the owner of said room his guests were doing.

It was just. Dark.

Tetsuya leaned against the back of the bench, while Nigou made himself comfortable between Tetsuya’s feet.

If before he had any doubts whenever Kagami-kun really disliked him, he didn’t have any now.


	4. Reconciliation

Idiot. Moron. Imbecile. Halfwit.

_BAKAGAMI._

Taiga cringed at the high school nickname. He hated it, but he couldn’t help but feel like it fit him.

Especially _now._

Tatsuya sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Dramatic.” He took a loud sip of his freshly brewed cappuccino.

“ _Overly_ dramatic I would say. It’s not like you Taiga.”

Kagami was silent and gloomy, ignoring his older brother’s weak attempts at cheering him up.

After a solid five minutes of silence and looking at his nails Himuro sighed loudly.

“Come on.” He kicked his leg under the table. “Stop moping.”

“I’m _not_ moping.” Kagami said finally, picked up his now lukewarm cup of coffee and took a sip. It was disgusting, but somehow it fit his food. Foul _and_ nasty.

“Then what are you doing?”

_Mourning_. Taiga wanted to say, but he suspected Tatsuya would dismiss him with another ‘dramatic’ comment.

_Feeling sorry for myself,_ wasn’t a good choice either.

“Feeling guilty.” He finally said.

Himuro set aside his cup with a click.

“Ah, so it’s about your neighbor. Are you guys still fighting? It’s been a month already.”

Taiga cringed. Indeed, it was.

“We’re not fighting. He just avoids me.”

They went full circle, from Kagami awkwardly staring at an elevator wall and pretending he didn’t exist, taking detours on his jogs through the park and the like, to Kuroko actively taking the stairs when he saw Kagami in the hallway, avoided going to the nearby park and _even_ ignoring Kagami when they ran into each other in the convenience store or at the vet.

Just that before, _Taiga_ did it to avoid making an ass out of himself (and to avoid Kuroko’s dog later on too) and in the process made a _bigger_ ass out of himself, while Kuroko did it to actively _avoid_ spending any time and sharing any space with Taiga.

Of course, Kuroko couldn’t know the difference.

Because Taiga was an _idiot_.

When they managed to share the same space though, he actively ignored him.

Taiga was surprised that Kuroko even _stayed_ at those places when Kagami was present. The first time they ran into each other there, some week after the _dog incident_ , he fully expected Kuroko to just turn around and walk out. But he didn’t of course. He still greeted him when he saw him with a very polite _good morning_ or _good afternoon,_ even _good night_ (no more ‘helloes’ for him it seemed) and a nod but he could feel how distanced and impersonal it was now.

It was then that it dawned on him how much he missed that little greeting and that little, cheeky, a bit sarcastic smile.

But it was of course too late now. Because Taiga was an idiot.

Tatsuya saved his cappuccino from spilling and Taiga’s coffee as well when Kagami thunked his head on the table.

“Have you, maybe considered just, you know _apologizing_? If it bothers you so much.”

Taiga sighed and sat up straight.

“It’s not that easy.”

“Why not? It was just a misunderstanding. I’m sure your neighbor is an understanding person.”

Taiga played with his empty cup.

That might have been true, but Kagami was still haunted with the image of Kuroko’s face when he yelled at him and how a flash of hurt scarred it for just a moment.

And it might have been easy for Himuro to apologize for such a stunt, maybe even turn it into a funny story and put it in the past behind him.

But Taiga wasn’t like that. He was awkward and he blurted things out like an idiot and didn’t mince his words. Plus, he was just honestly afraid of knowing that Kuroko hated him now.

And he tried apologizing. Many times. He even baked him goddamn _cupcakes_. He had no idea what Kuroko liked, so he just went with vanilla because it was neutral and many people liked vanilla.

Kuroko wasn’t at home at that day and after he came back Taiga chickened out and gave away the cupcakes to the kids in his block.

He didn’t try again after that.

It was done. It was the end. It was a total catastrophe and Taiga had to live with it for the rest of his life.

Fine. He’ll take it.

But then things took another crazy turn.

It was a Tuesday like any other. Taiga went out for his jog later than usual and came back only after some light exercise. It was getting colder and he didn’t have a hoodie with him and besides he really just wasn’t feeling it today.

He was thinking about god knows what when he walked into the elevator, basically punched the number ten and leaned against the metal wall with a heavy sigh.

The doors closed and so did Kagami’s eyes.

But the elevator never started.

Instead he heard the door opening again.

And _that_ voice.

“Excuse me.”

His eyes snapped open and went huge when he saw Kuroko entering the elevator. He panicked for a moment, confusion blooming on his face.

_What? Why? What’s going on? Why is he here? Now???_

Kuroko just looked at him, blinked calmly and entered the elevator as if nothing had happened.

And then Taiga saw the box he was carrying.

Tetsuya merely glanced at the display and then turned his gaze to the wall without even spearing a glance at Kagami.

_Ouch? Harsh? And cold?_

He deserved it though so he shouldn’t complain.

Nevertheless, it hurt.

The elevator slogged through every flood, but somehow it felt much, _much_ slower than usual.

It stopped suddenly at fifth floor, for no reason because Taiga never saw a person waiting outside. The kid’s must be messing around with it again. He though briefly and then the elevator moved again, shaking and the metal wires groaning.

Taiga really hated that elevator.

He was counting seconds between floors just to have something for his brain to do instead of thinking about how Kuroko’s indifferent aura made him uneasy.

And then the elevator stopped suddenly with a violent shake and Kuroko bumped into Kagami, hitting his hip with his heavy box.

“OW!”

“I’m sorry.” Kuroko moved away as much as he could and avoided looking at Taiga.

He grunted ‘it’s fine’ but didn’t get any response. He wasn’t sure Kuroko _even_ heard him.

He sighed and tipped his head back. Just _great_.

After a solid minute he realized something was wrong.

“Why aren’t we moving?” He said suddenly.

Kuroko looked at him for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“We’re stuck.” They both said at the same time. It would probably be funny and they could even get a chuckle out of that, but the sole realization of being stuck in the elevator, the _old, not serviced for years and cramped_ little elevator wasn’t really a laughing matter at this moment.

That and the fact that well, they really weren’t on _speaking_ terms.

“Excuse me? Can you please push the alarm button?”

Taiga almost screeched when he heard that soft voice speak suddenly, ripping him out of his thoughts. A moment later he realized it was actually speaking to _him._

“Uh, y-yeah, right.” He grunted and pushed the button.

And nothing.

_Figures_. That was always broken; the elevator was the only thing which could _never_ be permanently fixed for some reason.

“We should call someone.”

“Uh. I don’t have my phone with me.” Taiga grumbled. Curse his luck.

Kuroko sighed and bend down to put his, probably heavy, box on the floor. Taiga observed him curiously as he fished a smartphone from his pocket.

“The signal is weak, but maybe it will go through.”

Kuroko went through his contact list before dialing a number.

He waited and waited _and waited_ but at least there _was_ a signal.

Finally, the person picked up.

“Kise-kun?”

_Oh great._ Taiga grimaced. This was just fantastic.

“It’s me. I have a proble- please don’t panic.” He said with an exasperated sigh.

“No, I am not hurt. Please let me speak.”

Their eyes met and if they were friends they might have shared a grin or an eyeroll. Instead it was just awkward, so Kuroko dropped his gaze to the floor.

“I am stuck in an elevator. Yes, _our_ elevator. Yes.”

Taiga shifted uncomfortably in place, listening to the half conversation.

“Yes, it stopped between the floors five and six.” Kuroko said while he tried to deduce it from the sliver of the floor he could see.

“Mhm. Do you know where Kasamatsu-san is? Can you call him please? I’d call the fire department, but I’m not sure the call will go through.”

_I am fire department._ Taiga thought, feeling completely useless.

“Mhm. Yes, thank you. No, I’m with Kagami-kun.” He said and glanced briefly at Kagami. “He had the misfortune of being stuck here as well.”

Taiga almost winced.  

“Ye- excuse me?”

Taiga raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in tone.

“N- This isn’t funny. _Kise-kun._ ” He raised his voice at the end and Taiga jumped a bit.

Kuroko stared at his phone for a longer moment before he sighed.

“Help will be here soon.” He said it in such a way, that Taiga somehow knew that it meant it would be nowhere _close_ to soon.

Taiga sighed himself and decided that if they were stuck here for god know how long, he wasn’t going to stand around, so he sat down, directly on the floor. His legs barely fit inside the small space so he had to bed the knees.

Kuroko kept standing, his back turned to Kagami as he tried to call someone else. Unfortunately, no call went through anymore.

Taiga sighed and scratched his head.

“Are you going to stand around like that? You can sit down, you know?” Taiga said and immediately bit his tongue. Kuroko looked at him over his shoulder as if saw him for the first time.

He regarded Taiga for a moment, icy blue eyes assessing the situation. He hid his phone in his pocket, arranged the box, so it wouldn’t get in the way and sat down next to Kagami.

Unfortunately, Kagami remembered that he actually _liked_ Kuroko and immediately went rigid.

Kuroko didn’t react, but he also avoided looking at Kagami. Instead he chose the metal door as his object of interest. He never commented at how rude the comment was.

But Kagami was acutely aware of his presence now, even though Kuroko tended to appear and disappear as he pleased, and people tended to now notice and forget him.

And he smelled _so_ nice.

Taiga sighed and leaned his head backwards, until it hit the metal wall behind him.

Thankfully, he didn’t do it harder than necessary so he only bit his lip instead of yelping like a dumbass he was.

Kuroko remained unmoving.

They sat like this for probably twenty minutes or so, but it felt to Taiga like it was more. An hour? Two? Who knew?

Kuroko’s indifference to him served as a reminder that he acted like a real ass towards him and he was too clumsy and awkward to fix it.

But he really, _really_ wanted to.

And needed to.

The guilt was getting too much to bear.

_God this is all so awkward._ Kagami thought sourly and groaned in frustration while he rubbed his face. “Okay.” Kagami breathed. “Here goes nothing.”

Beside him Kuroko finally graced him with a curious (and was it pitying?) look, but he decided there was no point in crying over spilled milk.

So, he inhaled.

“I’m really, really, _really_ sorry _.”_ He’d try and bow but there was really no room for it, so he only squeezed his eyes and hung his head, hoping he looked remorseful enough.

Silence.

Did he really screw up so badly Kuroko didn’t even want to listen to his apology?

Granted he took his sweet ass time with it and for that there was no excuse, but he was _sincere._

Was Kuroko that cold?

He heard and felt a soft movement next to him and something brushed over his leg.

“Alright.” Equally soft voice spoke next to him he actually jerked his head back and came almost nose to nose with Kuroko. “Let’s start this over.”

Kagami was confused.

“I’m Kuroko Tetsuya.” He said and reached out his hand towards him. “Apology accepted.”

Kagami felt as if a huge boulder dropped from his chest and he probably audibly sighed in relief.

“Cool. I mean I’m Kagami Taiga.” He Said and this time shook Kuroko’s hand. Feeling a little stupid for being so excited from the simple (wanted this time!) contact.

Kuroko gave him a small smile and he dropped his hand.

“I thought you’d never talk to me.”

Taiga blushed and looked away.

“Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright. I’m sorry for barging in into your apartment like this, but your door was opened and Nigou sneaked inside.”

“Yeah, that’s…understandable. I’m not really good with dogs.”

Kuroko nodded and didn’t inquire more for which Taiga was more than grateful.

“Wait, _number two?_ ” Kuroko nodded.

Taiga blinked.

“Who’s number one?” Taiga tilted his head. Were there _more_ dogs?

To his surprise Kuroko actually looked sheepish for a moment.

“That would be me actually.”

Pause.

“What?” Taiga laughed. “I don’t get it.”

Kuroko didn’t seem angry that he was laughing, he even smiled a bit himself.

“I didn’t name him. It was Kise-kun. He claims we look alike.”

Taiga snorted.

“I dunno. You don’t seem like you have any fluffy ears or a tail.”

Kuroko narrowed his eyes but he was smirking.

“Only on Halloween, Kagami-kun.”

Taiga actually _guffawed_. Now that they were actually talking he didn’t even know why he was so afraid of starting a conversation with him in the first place.

_Because you are a moron_. His inside voice told him and well, he couldn’t argue with _that_.

“I knew you were making fun of me.” He risked. Kuroko looked at him curiously.

“What do you mean? When?”

“In the elevator! Every time we ride it – er, rode it, together you make this face like you’re laughing at me.”

Kuroko blinked once and then had to cover his mouth when he giggled.

“I am not _laughing_ at you. I was _smiling_ at you.”

Taiga blushed again.

“Well it looked like you were laughing at me.”

“No.” He paused. “But I certainly am _now_.”

_What a little shit_. Taiga had to bit his tongue not to call him that out loud.

“So, uh, where’s your dog?”

“At home. He’s probably worried. I know he’ll be hungry when I get back. It’s past his feeding time.”

Taiga grinned a bit. It was almost as if he was talking about a younger sibling.

“And what’s in there?” He asked, gesturing with his foot towards the box.

“Books. Children’s picture books mostly. My kids like when I read to them and I like telling stories.”

Taiga paused.

_Oh shit._

“O-oh. Uh? You have…kids?”

He never saw any kids at Kuroko’s apartment and he didn’t seem to have anyone, so that was a…surprise.

Kuroko paused.

“Oh, no.” He said with a laugh. “I’m a…well an intern pre-school teacher and I have my own group now. _These_ are my kids. Not _actually_ mine.”

“Oh.”

Taiga felt embarrassed at that slight flash of relief.

Kuroko reached for the package.

“Shall I practice on you Kagami-kun? I need it and we’ll be stuck here for some time it seemed and I am a little bit bored.”

“Shut up.” Taiga snorted and Kuroko laughed quietly.

“I was joking.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You’d probably prefer to play basketball.” He said quietly.

Taiga looked at him suddenly.

“How did you know?”

“I saw you once with a ball.”

“Oh.”

Pause.

“I played basketball too. In middle school.”

“Really? Why did you stop?”

Kuroko looked hesitant for a moment.

“I’ll tell you one day.”

Taiga wanted to ask why not now, but he refrained from it. It meant Kuroko wanted to talk to him _after_ they were out of here.

“What did Kise say?” He changed the subject. “How long are we gonna be stuck in here?”

Kuroko sighed.

“I do not know. He was all panicking that I was stuck in the elevator, until I said you were also here.”

Kagami tilted his head.

“I don’t understand.”

Kuroko looked slightly embarrassed.

“To put it simply, he thinks it’s an ‘opportunity’.”

“Opportunity for what?”

“Well, probably to make up after the whole ‘dog incident’ as he called it. Please just ignore him.”

Taiga snickered.

“Well we did _that_. Maybe you should give him a call to move his ass and call Kasamatsu.”

Kuroko sighed and fished his phone out of his pocket.

“I suppose.”

And then he paused.

“What?”

Kuroko bit his lip.

“My battery died.”

Taiga sighed and bumped his head over the metal wall.

“Let’s just hope he won’t forget about us. I really wouldn’t want to die in an elevator.”

“Likewise.” Kuroko said.

After that they sat in silence for a moment and Taiga realized it wasn’t awkward. It was pretty chill and comfortable.

“We’re you okay after I took Nigou? Did he break anything?”

Taiga looked at Kuroko and shrugged.

_Aside from my pride and the dinner?_

_“_ Nah. It’s cool.”

Kuroko nodded.

 “Kagami-kun, can I ask you a question?”

“Hm? Yeah?” Taiga was peeling off the caution stickers from one of the walls.

“Are you married?”

Taiga would choke if he was drinking something, instead he only sputtered.

“W-what?” He knew he was red, but he couldn’t do anything about it. “Where did this come from?”

“Well.” Kuroko said and sat up straight. “You wear a ring on your neck. And you invite an attractive blonde, foreign woman to your home.”

Taiga blushed.

“This is a present I got from my brother.” He said while touching the ring. “And Alex is a distant relative.”

Pause.

“Anyway, I didn’t know you were so nosy?”

“I am not. We are neighbors Kagami-kun. And I have ears.” Pause. “And a nose.”

“What?”

“It’s absolutely your fault for tempting me with those wonderful smells and not offering anything.”

Taiga blinked.

“On second thought I am still upset. I demand a compensation.”

“Well, do you wanna get coffee then?” Taiga didn’t mean to make it sound so defensive, but somehow it came out like that and he blushed. That’s no how you ask someone on a _date_.

But Kuroko smiled.

“No.”

Taiga blinked.

“Wh-“

“For a vanilla shake.”

“What?”

“I want a vanilla shake. I won’t accept anything else.”

Taiga stared.

And then he laughed again.

“Okay, fine.”

“Good. Local Majibu has delicious milkshakes.

Taiga snorted.

“You know what?”

“Hm?”

“I’ll _make_ you a vanilla shake. So good you forget any others ever existed.”

Kuroko’s eyes gleamed.

“Bold statement. But I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Saturday?” Taiga said suddenly and hesitated. That was too forward?

“Yes.” Kuroko said. “I’m free then.”

Taiga opened his mouth to snark back but then the elevator shook and groaned.

The stood up, immediately alert.

At first, he thought, well that was it and was about to grab Kuroko in a protective hold when he started to feel how they were going down, but then the elevator stopped and he heard another groan when the doors started opening.

“Kurokocchi!!” It was Kise and Taiga breathed a sigh of relief.

“Shut up Kise.” Kasamatsu’s grouchy voice could be heard, but they weren’t able to see him.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Yes.” They said both at the same time.

“Okay. Hold on, I’ll help you out.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Taiga said and crouched near the opening. “Can you lower it?”

“Yeah, but just a bit.”

“Okay.” Kagami said and stood up. He gently pushed Kuroko to the wall and waited as the elevator shook again and fell a couple more inches.

“That’s all.” Kasamatsu called.

“It’s enough.” Taiga replied and after assessing the situation, chose the best way of proceedings.

He managed to squeeze himself through the narrow passage and turned towards Kuroko when his feet hit the floor.

Kuroko was there however thrusting the box into Kagami’s hands.

“Seriously?” Taiga said and rolled his eyes.

“Please be quiet. I paid for them.” He said and Taiga dumped the box on Kise.

“Okay. C’mere here now.”

Kuroko gingerly sat down and swung his legs over the edge. Kagami was there immediately and without thinking much grabbed Kuroko around the waist and pulled him forward.

Kuroko arched, avoiding the collision of his head with the metal door of the elevator and Taiga had a brief thought that he couldn’t pull this off if he weren’t _flexible_ enough.

“There.” Kagami said when Kuroko was standing safely on the ground.

“You okay?”

Kuroko nodded.

“Thank you Kagami-kun.”

He realized he was still touching him so he let go of Kuroko’s hips. He forgot he wasn’t on duty.

“Sorry force of habit. I uh, I’m a firefighter.”

Kuroko’s eyes went wide for a split second.

“How heroic.” He sounded sarcastic but the smile and his next words were genuine.

“Thank you.”

“Sure.”

“Ekhm.” Kise cleared his throat and dumped the box back into Kagami’s arms. “Please don’t ignore m-, uh I mean us.”

Kasamatsu sighed.

“You both are okay? No injuries?”

They both shook their heads.

“Good. Go home. I need to call the service.” He put a sigh which said ‘OUT OF ORDER’ and turned to Kise.

“And _you_ should have called me _sooner.”_

“I know and I’m sorry!” Kise whined when Kasamatsu hit him on the arm.

“Okay kids. It’s late and I have a lot of things to do tomorrow.” He said when he was done scolding Kise.

“Yes. Thank you, Kasamatsu-san. Good night.” Kuroko said politely. Kasamatsu nodded and took the stairs to his own apartment.

Kise opened his mouth when he was gone, but Kuroko cut him off.

“ _Don’t_. Kise-kun. Don _not_. I am still angry with you.”

Kise looked confused for a moment.

“Wh-“ He glanced at Kagami and then at Kuroko. “Why?!”

Kuroko sighed.

“Good night Kise-kun.” He said and waited. Kise just stood there blinking before he lit up.

“OH! I _get_ it.” He made a sleazy face and Taiga felt his own cheeks redden.

“I’ll leave you two then.” He said and waved to them when he exited the building.

“No Kise-kun.” Kuroko said louder after him but there was no way he’d hear it.

And then silence.

“So.” Kagami started feeling shy and awkward all of a sudden.

“So.” Kuroko said and it must have been the artificial light on the hallway, because he was a bit pink in the face.

“S-Saturday it is?”

“Yes.” Kuroko said and Kagami thought he heard the faintest of stutters but he wasn’t sure. “That’s what we agreed on.”

“Yeah!” Kagami said and cringed on how his voice echoed. Kuroko didn’t berate him.

Instead he smiled, lips closed, but it was so genuine Kagami felt suddenly a bit dizzy and he blinked a few times.

While taking the stairs, they chatted about nonsensical topics Kagami couldn’t even remember afterwards.

Taiga carried the heavy package, but he didn’t feel its weight.

“Thank you Kagami-kun.” Kuroko said and grunted lightly when he took the box from him after opening his door.

Kagami thought he was going to disappear inside immediately, but he paused and looked at Kagami suddenly.

“I’m glad we talked and cleared the misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, me too.” Taiga said and grinned back at Kuroko.

Kagami had to stop himself and not take the box again from Kuroko and help him carry it inside. He was curious how his place looked, but if he _didn’t_ make a fool out of himself, he might _just_ get an invitation sooner or later.

And besides, Kuroko was a grown up too and he probably wouldn’t appreciate being babied like that. God knows he did that _enough_ today, with all the elevator rescue and all. It must have felt patronizing to Kuroko.

“Goodnight.” Kuroko said and paused.

“What?”

“Can you-the door?”

“Huh? Oh! Right.” Kagami reflected himself and grabbed the handle. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” Kuroko chuckled and again said goodnight when Taiga closed the door to his apartment behind him.

A moment later he heard the sound of the key in the lock and soft footsteps moving away from the genkan.

Taiga closed his eyes and exhaled.

“Holy shit.” He cursed, hoping it was quiet enough.

It was nice, he thought when he was going about his before sleep routine. It probably wouldn’t go anywhere and honestly, Kagami wouldn’t probably be able to even take it there, wherever _there_ was, but they could _at least_ be friends.

That he could do.

Still, he couldn’t help and relish in the absolutely amazing and energizing feeling of a _first_ crush.


	5. Three months later

Just before he had to go to work, he decided to drop in by Tetsu’s place.

The elevator was broken again and he had to take the damn stairs to get to his friend’s apartment at the tenth floor.

He might not be the high school’s basketball team ace anymore, but that didn’t _mean_ he was out of shape or something. He was just goddamn _sleepy_.

Early morning shifts were fucking _awful_.

Aomine yawned and stretched when he finally made it past the last flight of stairs.

The hall was empty and quiet, in the kind of pre-morning hush, before anyone even woke up for breakfast or work or anything else.

Well, it was a Saturday after all.

But he _still_ had to work. Fantastic. He agreed to the shift when Sakurai asked him last week, and he _completely_ forgot about it.

Imayoshi, his boss, called him last night to remind him of it and well, he didn’t take it well.

And then _Wakamatsu_ also messaged him that he wanted his movie back.

Ah yes, the _movie_. Some kind of action flick, that Aomine couldn’t care about, but for some reason found its way also to his DVD player since it made rounds over the whole team.

He fell asleep twenty minutes in.

That was at least three weeks ago. And now Bakamatsu wanted it back. Actually no, he kept nagging him for it for a whole month.

_Fine_.

Aomine looked for it at his apartment but he could only find the disk. He wondered where he put the case and had a brief idea to just give the movie back in a simple plastic CD cover, but he’d knew the stupid hothead from work would bitch about it for at least another half a year.

So, he thought hard and he finally realized where he misplaced it.

He gave it to Tetsu.

It was deliberate. About a month ago Tetsu asked him if he had any movies, preferably the ones that didn’t require much thinking. Aomine gave him a puzzled look but then he lit up in realization.

Tetsu was asking for _those_ kind of movies.

He almost hugged him then and told him he was proud of him, but he only grinned and said ‘yeah I have somethin’.

Tetsu wasn’t a big movie buff, so he put the plain looking disk in the DVD box of the movie Wakamatsu lend him and passed it to his friend, sharing a (he _hoped_ ) confidential and understanding look.

Tetsu simply blinked and nodded and thanked him.

Daiki wanted to laugh. Tetsu, the prim and proper, good grades, goody-two shoes who always bereted Aomine for buying gravure was not asking _him_ for porn.

Sweet, sweet irony.

Maybe _finally_ Tetsu would be ready to go pick up girls with Aomine. Kise once said that women considered him cute ( _when_ they noticed him that is) so maybe he could use that to his advantage.

Tetsu was seriously a weirdo. He always made a face when he visited Aomine’s place and saw his magazines and never wanted to go to a bar with Daiki (that one kind of hurt really) and he _still_ didn’t have a girlfriend.

Honestly, he was starting to worry. _That_ couldn’t be healthy.

But then he came to him with such a request and Aomine breathed a sigh of relief.

He might have the opinion of a jerk but he cared about his friends okay? In a way.

Daiki located the door of his best friend’s apartment and lazily made his way to it.

He pressed the door bell once an waited.

And waited.

He pressed it another time and waited again.

Three minutes later he was still standing in front of the door to Tetsu’s apartment.

So, he decided to knock.

“For fuck’s sake.” Daiki grumbled and hit the door harder.

Nothing.

_Maybe he’s out._ He thought briefly, but then disregarded that thought. He saw Tetsu yesterday when he was coming back home after his part time job.

He _had_ to be home.

Or maybe…what if he was kidnapped?

Daiki considered calling the station and filling the missing person report.

Nah. That was stupid. He was probably sleeping. Tetsu was a sleepy head, so it was probably it. He just had to be more persistent.

He sighed and fished out his phone. Stepping away from the door and dialed his friend’s number.

And promptly whipped his head when he heard the phone ringing behind closed doors.

Of the apartment _three doors down_.

Aomine stared for a moment not comprehending what was happening when the phone went to voice mail

“Oi, Tetsu! Where the hell are you? We’re you kidnapped?”

Suddenly he heard a sound of the door opening – _Tetsu’s_ door, as he realized.

But the person standing there wasn’t Tetsu.

Unless Tetsu suddenly grew like nine inches and gained fifty pounds, a ton of muscles and dyed his hair red.

And got some really weird-ass eyebrows.

The dude looked at Aomine with sleepy eyes, blinked once, twice before he snapped out of his daze.

He left the door unlocked and (just in his boxers) went to the apartment from which he heard Tetsu’s phone ringing.

Aomine watched all of this in mute fascination, as he opened the door with a key and disappeared inside. What the hell? Was he the kidnapper? But why was he in Tetsu’s home?

Aomine’s eyes went wide.

Unless…he finally knew why Tetsu had never much interest in being Daiki’s wingman, why he never talked about girls and why he was never interested in the movies and magazines Aomine tried to slip him.

Too much sense.

“Good morning Aomine-kun.” The voice was soft and slightly hoarse.

Daiki shrieked.

“Tetsu!”

Kuroko frowned at his friend.

“Please be quiet. People are trying to sleep.”

_No shit!_ Daiki though, obviously embarrassed as he tried to avoiding looking at his friend. He already saw enough. And _that_ shirt was definitely _not_ his. Goddamn, the image would now haunt him for a while.

If not forever.

“Aomine-kun, do you need something?” Tetsu asked, tilting his head to the side, showing off in plain view an obvious _hickey_.

“The movie!” He sputtered. Tetsu blinked a few times.

“Oh. Right. Please wait a moment.” He said and went back inside. For a moment it was quiet in the hall. A few minutes later Tetsu returned with the familiar box Aomine borrowed from Wakamatsu.

“Here.”

Daiki looked at Tetsu and knew he shouldn’t but he asked anyway.  

“So uh, did you watch it?”

He expected for Kuroko to roll his eyes and not say anything or tell him that he was incorrigible or that he should have expected that from Daiki.

But Kuroko paused for a moment before he smiled, or more like _smirked_ at Daiki.

“No.” He said. “Frankly speaking, I find these kind of movies very _useless._ ”

“Do you now?” Daiki couldn’t help but snark back.

Tetsu opened his mouth to reply, but then he stopped and smiled, this time _honestly_ smiled.

But it wasn’t at Daiki.

“Hey. Sorry, I couldn’t find it.”

Daiki turned to the rumbly voice. The tall guy with red hair and weird eyebrows closed the door to the other apartment while they were talking and approached them.

Well, he seemed to barely notice that Daiki was ever there _in first place_.

“Here.” He said and passed Tetsu his phone.

They stopped for a moment, looking at each other and Aomine almost gagged. Ugh, what the hell?

“Thank you very much.” Tetsu said it in such an official, polite way but the guy _blushed_ as if it was some kind of mega, suggestive flirting come-on.

Hell, knowing Tetsu maybe it was. He was a weirdo.

And apparently into dudes now. Or he might always have been. Who knew. Certainly not Aomine.

“Ah, Aomine-kun. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Pause.

“Shit!” Daiki cursed and Tetsu shushed him reflexively.

“Please don’t shout.”

Aomine clucked his tongue and waved his hand at him.

“Whatever.” He headed for the stairs but then he turned back.

“I’ll talk to you later. About the uh _movie_.”

Kuroko blinked and then smirked again.

“Sure.”

And then he laughed when two arms grabbed him around the waits, pulled him back inside and the doors were slammed shut.

And then Aomine really did gag.

But he didn’t have the time to dwell on Tetsu’s sudden and unexpected love life because _Imayoshi_ was calling him and probably giving him an earful for being late.

“Stupid Tetsu. It’s all your fault.” He grumbled to himself while he was running down the stairs.

In a way he was glad he would have work to distract him.

Anything, not to think about the sickening giggles coming from behind the door to the apartment on the tenth floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done! This is a sort of epologue. Posting this today because I don't think I'll have time in the next few days lol. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read and commented :) It means a lot. I am really happy that I finished my first ever multichaptered fic :D

**Author's Note:**

> Since I am impatient and I have MOST of this fic finished I can finally start posting it lmao. 
> 
> based on [ this](https://deadcatwithaflamethrower.tumblr.com/post/144983371839/the-most-beautiful-man-in-the-world-who-lives-in) tumblr story and me and [aphelion's ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphelion_orion) headcanons. More of them are on her blog if you're interested. I took some liberties and just went with it. Sorry it's so clumsy and unfunny.


End file.
